25 June, 2012

The Special Chair

There was once a boy called Mario
who loved to have loads of friends. He showed off a lot, always talking about
how many friends he had at school, and how he was so friendly with everyone.

One day his grandfather said to
him,

-"Mario, I bet you a big bag
of popcorn you don't have as many friends as you think. I'm sure many of them
are nothing more than companions, acquaintances, or partners in crime."

Mario accepted the bet without
hesitation. However, he wasn't sure how he could test whether or not his
schoolmates were real friends, so he asked his grandpa. The old man answered,

-"I have just exactly what
you need, it's in the attic. Wait here a minute."

Grandpa left, soon returning as
though carrying something in his hand, but Mario could see nothing there.

-"Take it. It's a very
special chair. Because it's invisible it's rather tricky to sit on, but if you
take it to school and you manage to sit on it, you'll activate its magic and
you'll be able to tell who your real friends are.”

Mario, brave and determined, took
the strange invisible chair and set off for school. At break time he asked
everyone to form a circle, and he put himself in the middle, with his chair.

-"Nobody move. You're about
to see something amazing."

And Mario attempted sitting on
the chair. Having difficulty seeing it, he missed and fell straight onto his
backside. Everyone had a pretty good laugh.

-"Wait, wait, just a slight
technical problem,"

he said, making another attempt.
But again he missed the seat, causing more surprised looks, and a few cat
calls. Mario wouldn't be beaten. He kept trying to sit on the magic chair, and
kept falling to the ground... until, suddenly, he tried again and didn't fall.
This time he sat, hovering in mid-air...

Then it was that he finally
experienced the magic that his grandfather had been talking about. Looking
around, Mario saw George, Lucas, and Diana - three of his best friends -
holding him up, so he wouldn't fall. Meanwhile, many others he had thought of
as friends had done nothing but make fun of him, enjoying each and every fall.

And there the show came to an
end. Leaving with his three friends, he explained to them how his grandfather
had so cleverly thought of a way to show him that true friends are those who
care for us, and not just any acquaintance who happens to be passing by. Even
less would a friend be someone who takes joy in our misfortunes.

That evening the four children
went to see Mario's grandpa to pay out the bet. They had a great time listening
to stories, and eating popcorn until fit to burst. And, from then on, they used
the magic chair test on quite a few occasions. And whoever passed it became
friends for life.